Book Review: ‘The Official Wednesday Cookbook’ by Mari Mancusi with Recipes by Jarrett Melendez
The Addams family has held a special place in pop culture for over sixty years now. The crazy, kooky family has starred in various TV shows, cartoons, and movies. The latest take on the family is Wednesday on Netflix. The show focuses on the titular character as she deals with a new school, new friends, and a murderous monster in the woods. The show has captivated viewers, and as they prepare for the second season, Random House Worlds has released a Wednesday themed cookbook from Mari Mancusi and Jarrett Melendez. The Official Wednesday Cookbook shares recipes inspired by the Addams Family world that are perfect for your next viewing party, gathering, Halloween, or any time you’re just feeling mysterious and spooky.
[Note: While I am reviewing this novel independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Random House Worlds for the purpose of this review. Warning: My review of The Official Wednesday Cookbook contains some spoilers!]
The Official Wednesday Cookbook is a unique spin on outreach
The premise of The Official Wednesday Cookbook is that Nevermore Academy is extending its outreach day from the show. In the series, Nevermore students spend outreach day helping out in the community to show normies that they’re really not that different. Now they want to reach beyond the small town of Jericho and show normies everywhere how much they have in common by bonding over food. They thoughtfully substitute normie-approved ingredients for some of their more esoteric ones (I think every single time that there’s a tomato sauce, they make a point of saying that it is blood in the original recipe) so that everyone can enjoy these macabre offerings.
The recipes in The Official Wednesday Cookbook come from a few different sources. The Nevermore chefs offer up recipes that are tailored towards the different four main cliques: furs, fangs, stoners, and scales. Then individual students like Wednesday and Enid share some of their favorite foods. Teachers and student families also make contributions. In the name of inclusion, some of the citizens of Jericho (complete normies) even share their treasured recipes. With so many recipe sources, there’s something for everyone in this book.
As you would expect, The Official Wednesday Cookbook is really geared towards fans of Netflix’s Wednesday series. Not only do all the recipes have a macabre spin, they are all prefaced with a story that ties them to Wednesday’s world. Some recipes are headed by stories from characters. Others are tied to particular cliques with an introduction explaining why. Sometimes it feels like the book tries too hard (does every instance of tomato sauce have to be blood? Must everything Wednesday eats have charcoal in it to turn it black?). But overall the tie-ins are cute, and fans will love them. There are also many pictures from the series sprinkled through the pages to treat fans.
There’s plenty of variety, plus ideas for how to use these creepy and kooky fun recipes
The recipes in The Official Wednesday Cookbook are divided into breakfast, finger foods, lunches, dinners, desserts, and drinks. Most of the meals could be easily interchanged, and it doesn’t really help to find a particular recipe, other than for desserts and drinks. I think that dividing the recipes by cliques might have been more practical. Because the different groups eat pretty stereotypical foods, dividing it by furs, fangs, scales, stoners, and normies would have been more helpful for finding what you want in my opinion.
An interesting feature at the back of The Official Wednesday Cookbook is the Nevermore Academy Parties and Events Manual. This section has a few different party theme ideas. It suggests the menu using recipes from The Official Wednesday Cookbook, of course. But it goes farther than that. It also gives decorating tips, conversation ideas, and music suggestions. There are even shopping lists to make sure you have everything you need to make your party a success. All the party themes are Wednesday Addams approved of course, and any one would be a great choice for a viewing party for the upcoming second season of Wednesday.
The Official Wednesday Cookbook is for chefs without a budget
My biggest problem with The Official Wednesday Cookbook is that the writers obviously didn’t think about budget when they created their recipes. Many of the ingredients are either expensive, difficult to obtain, or both. I understand that they were going for a very specific aesthetic but I feel like chefs should think about the people who will actually be cooking the recipes when they write them. Using expensive or rare ingredients puts people off from trying recipes, and despite what some chefs will say, usually cheaper, more common ingredients work just as well. Experienced home chefs know this and will modify recipes to fit them, but for younger or inexperienced cooks this can be intimidating and create a barrier that keeps them from trying.
So all I’m saying is that if you get The Official Wednesday Cookbook and can’t track down the multitude of peppers, bizarre fruit powders, or any other odd ingredient needed for some recipes, don’t be afraid to modify the recipe to suit your needs so you can still enjoy the spooky, if a little kooky, delicious food.
My rating for this book: 7/10
The Official Wednesday Cookbook comes out Tuesday (they missed the boat on that…), July 22nd. That gives fans just enough time to get a copy, practice a few recipes, and plan a really amazing viewing party for the second season of Wednesday, which releases on Netfilx on August 6th. The recipes will also be great for Halloween parties. Some of these recipes will also taste great for everyday meals, but most of them have a more narrow appeal. Fans are going to love this book, even if they just enjoy the recipe introductions and pictures.
Also check out: Cosmic Cuisine: Camp Half-Blood’s Campfire S’more Cookie Bombs
